Bossa Nova Lessons

Black Orpheus Guitar Arrangement

Here is my arrangement of Luis Bonfa’s classic bossa nova hit. It was also performed on a film called Orfeo Negro and was originally called Maha De Carneval. I have shared the lead sheet for this piece before, this version includes melody with bossa nova accompaniment in A minor. Its a popular piece and very evocative. Suitable for an intermediate player.

If you would like access the score and use the play along soundslice software you can purchase the arrangements course which comes with a e-Book including study notes.

Comments

Not only is “Manhã de Carnaval” the original name of the song, it is still the only legitimate name for this piece. Calling it “Black Orpheus” is one of those fake news items spread by monolingual English speakers who lack the linguistic competence to say “Manhã de Carnaval” with any degree of confidence and so have simply latched on to the one connection with the song they feel they know how to say.
If we’re going to use an English translation for the song, then please let’s use “Carnival Morning” rather than calling the song by the name of the movie it came form (“Black Orpheus”/”Orfeu Negro”) — that’s a bit like taking the song “My Heart Will Go On” and calling it “Titanic.”
I can assure you that NOBODY in Brasil refers to this song as “Orfeu Negro.”